Introduction with some C&C

[OscarMike]

Hello all, i've been trolling for a while and i like the place so skipping the AA style introduction lets get into it. I'm finally coming back to shooting after 15 years (my last rig was a pentax 35mm SLR). i picked up a D5100 kit and away we go!
So here is the project subject:

i want to try to convey just how big this SOB is, but im not happy with what i've done so far. i'll take it outside for a better background when its not raining.
low angle

subject height

DOF

 

[Dagwood56]

If you are trying to convey how large the subject [truck], then you'll need to place something of contrasting size near it...a person perhaps.

 

[OrionsByte]

I like your low-angle shot, and I think it does the best at making the truck feel big, but there are a couple things that would help in my opinion:

• Like Dagwood said, having something of established size in the frame would help lend some scale to the photo.
• Get yourself down on the ground so that the whole front tire is in the frame, ideally without chopping off most of the top either.

So here's what I would do if I were to reshoot that (and forgive me, but it got my creative juices flowing):

• Position yourself low to the ground, use the smallest focal length your lens can provide (probably 18mm), and position yourself so that everything from the bottom of the front tire to the top of the cab and rear-view mirror is in the frame.
• Get a trio of firefighters to stand near the back of the truck, off to the right which is mostly dead space in the current frame.

It would be best if you could control the lighting a little better, but that comes down to off-camera flash and is probably a bit more than your equipment is capable of right now. But I see potential in that second shot, and I think you could come away with something pretty interesting with just a little bit of tweaking.

 

[OscarMike]

thanks for the ideas using relativity. lighting is a challenge. the letters use a reflective paint that will badly over expose when hit with a flash. I'll work some more with the low angle outdoors so the lighting is natural

 

[The_Traveler]

You could actually lighten the truck a bit.
If you redo this, I would step to your left a bit to kept rid of the funny distortion where the very front of the truck seems to be receding a bit.